head gasket

[Tosh]

i'm planning on replacing my head gasket and i want to run a compression test on it before hand. if anyone in the vancouver area has got one n wants to help me out pm me or email at toshioouchi@hotmail.com
thanks.

[mr_mcfarlane]

compression test is fairly easy - if you get a screw in a tester you can pull a test off by yourself

try napa, carquest, parts source, etc, most have rental or cheap testers.. it's just a 'memory' gauge

[Tosh]

ok thanx mc. i'll see if i can hit that up this weekend. i also want to try and run that test for exhaust gas in the coolant system. my coolant warning light has been coming on every once in a while so i figured i better get on it to be sure. maybe i'm just a lil paranoid.

[cdnsupra]

Why do you wanna replace the head gasket?

or

in other words, what are the symptoms leading you to believe it is leaking or blown?

[Tosh]

the only thing that somewhat leads me to think it's leaking is my coolant. the level in the overflow bottle is changing, nothing huge. it might just be cracked haven't really checked. i will be replacing my head gasket regardless if it's blown or not. i just want to know if it's leaking and needs extra work before i open it all up.

[Tosh]

ok ran a compression test today with help from another vancouver supra (amazing car :o ) no bhg, my compression is perfect! my coolant loss is because of a crack in my rad, oh well better than a bhg. fixed up a few other little things. car's running better than before, much more perky. still leaking oil like nuts!! changed it last weekend and had to add over 2 litres today!!!! wtf! valve cover was leaking so tightened that up. we'll see how things go. that's it for now.
peace out

[cdnsupra]

Originally Posted by Tosh

the only thing that somewhat leads me to think it's leaking is my coolant. the level in the overflow bottle is changing, nothing huge. it might just be cracked haven't really checked. i will be replacing my head gasket regardless if it's blown or not. i just want to know if it's leaking and needs extra work before i open it all up.

I would check further before going through all that work if you only have a slightly changing reserviour level. even a worn out rad cap can leak fluid to the reserviour bottle, then not pick it back up when cold.

a cracked rad would also cause you to loose coolant over time, hopefully this is the source of your problem. glad to see you got some experienced supra help over the weekend.

[cdnsupra]

Originally Posted by Tosh

ok ran a compression test today with help from another vancouver supra (amazing car :o ) no bhg, my compression is perfect! my coolant loss is because of a crack in my rad, oh well better than a bhg. fixed up a few other little things. car's running better than before, much more perky. still leaking oil like nuts!! changed it last weekend and had to add over 2 litres today!!!! wtf! valve cover was leaking so tightened that up. we'll see how things go. that's it for now.
peace out

if your leak is mainly the valve covers, then tightening them should help. if the valve cover grommets are hard and brittle, the tightening will not last long. you may have to keep tightening them on a regular basis. this will lead to the phillips heads on the tiny screws to wear out, which will be bad. if the leaking persists from the valve covers, i would replace the screws and grommets. each are less than a buck from toyota, but will cost about 30 dollars in total. the grommets, when new, allow the compression needed from the expanding and contracting alluminum valve cover. you should not need to replace the gasket itself, which is a little more expensive. mine seem to look great and last forever.

what kind of oil are you using? if you are using a thin synthetic, and you have quite a few miles on the engine, this could be causing some of your leaks. cars have run on conventional oil for 100 years! synthetic is a great alternative, but it made my 1987 supra with 350,000kms leak a quart or more a month, leaving ugly puddles on driveways and parking lots. changing back to regular oil has since stopped all the leakage. the synthetic is so fine and cleansing, it breaks up all the sludge built up on the inside, then forces itself out through the tiny cracks in 10 year old gaskets.

[Tosh]

ya my rad cap is leaking a bit aswell, but it's mainly from that crack in the rad. it's not bad, but annoying still. the valve cover was hella loose! i'll check it again at the end of the week. i'm hoping that will stop my oil leak. n yes i'm using dino oil. i'll switch to synthetic when the engine eventually get's rebuilt and has nice new squishy seals n gaskets . but for now it's drip drip drip! anyways, if you guys wanna check out this guys supra, which i suggest you do you can check it at carbonfibrefx.com. so nice!! gave me tons of ideas on what to do to mine